Combination plug and socket



Sept. s, i925.

1,553,030 D. CARL COMBINATION PLUG AND SOCKET Filed Jau. 6. 1 922 35wim" m 'aww' L" A l I* l I f' Patented Sept. 8, 1925.

DAVID CARL, or NNW Yo RK, N. Y., AssIGNoR or UNE-HALF To or MoUNrvERNoN,NEW vonk.`

NORMAN P. s. soHLoss,

COMBINATION PLUG AND( sooner.

4appiicatiml inea January s, i922. serial No.` 527,379. t

To all whom it may concern i Be it known that I, DAVID CARL, a citlzenof the United States, and resident of New `York city, in the county ofNew York and vState of New York, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Combination Plugs and Sockets, of whichthe foli lowingis a specification.

This invention relates to an electrical fixture and more particularly toa combination electrical plug and socket, and has special reference tothe provisio-n of a`un1- tary plug and socket especially adapted forconnecting standard base receptacles with standard plugs to render theformer serviceable for `use with various electricalhousehold articles.

` Electrical household `articles such as the electric iron, 'electricheater, toaster, percolater, etc., are manufactured and `sold with theprovision of a maleplug and a detachable combination plug, with thelatter constructed to be insertible in and received by the standard lampsocket or receptacle. Al-

f though these household articles `may therefore be used withand-attached to the standard lamp socket, the plug or combination plugforming part of these household articles is not adapted and cannot bereceived by the base type of receptacle which .is commonly met with andwidely employed in residence installations. For the purpose ofincreasing the usefulness of the household articles and for adapting thesame to?f be used with both types of receptacles occurring in residencex installations, I have found it desirable to provide a novelcombination vof plug andv socket especially adapted to be received byandy lit into the standard base receptacle now used and adapted toreceive and be connected to the standard yplug associated with theelectrical household articles or utensils and a prime desideratum of mypresent invention comprehends the provision of such acombination plugand socket.

The principal objects of t myI invention may therefore be said toinclude, besides the provision of acombination plug and socket havingthefunction and uses above outlined. the further provision of a plug andsocket in which a female unit or socket is attached to a. male unit orplug to form a unitary device, the latter being constructed to bereceived by a standard base receptacle and the ,being had'to theaccompanying which showa preferred embodiment of my tion; plug andsocket comprises,

fo-rmerybeing adapted to receive the-standard threaded plug, the units`being' so combinedlvas to provide for economy in manufacture andrigidityofthe parts, the plug and socket forming an inexpensive, lowcost` of production,l electrical fixture.

To -theaccomplishment ofthe `foregoing and such other objects as mayhereinafter appear, my invention consists in the elements and-theirrelation one tothe other,

as hereinafter particularly described and sought to be defined in 'theclaims, reference drawings invention and in Vwhich: e

Figure 1 1s an elevational View in cross sectionof my combination plugand socket showing ythemannerfof its use, and

Figure2 isa bottomplan viewthereof. Referring to the drawings, fthecombinagenerically, ,the male unit or plug'P and the female unit orsocket S, the former being adapted to be received by and fit into thestandard base receptacle R, the plug P and socket `S forming a unitarydevice. l

The plug lP preferably comprises a body 10 madefof insulating materialsuch as porcelain, fibre or thelike, the Asaid body portionlQ having alower portion 11 being' of rectangular i cross-sectional configurationto fit the` standard type ofbase receptacle R and vbeing provided with`the` flanged portion 12 intended to cover the opening ofV the baselreceptacle, the body 10`further including an upper portion i 13preferably of circular `cross sectional area. Attached'tothe insulattionpreferably externally thereof, I provide the metallic strips 14 and 15,lthe latter comprising contact elements adapted to electrically connectwith the` opposed 4contact terminals (not shown) of the base receptacleR.` The metallic strips 14 and 15 are preferably provided at the bottom`ends thereof Y with the inturned flanged portions 16 and 17 the`portion l1 of the insulating body 10 being `suitably contoured to permitthe inturning of these end portions, this for the purpose offacilitating entry of the plug into the receptacle R. The metallicstrips or contact elements 14 and 15 are further provided with thepreferably integral arms or branches 18 and 19 which extend into theinterior of the plug P, the body 10 being ing body 10 and mounted inopposedrelaprovided with suitably opposed slits 20 and 21 through whichthe branches 18and 19 are inserted.

ranged the conductors 24 and 25 respectively, the said conductorslbeingconnected f to the branches or arms 18 and 19 respectively at theirbottom portions and bymeans of the screws or similar securing means 26and- 27 respectively, the' said screws attaching the conductors and armstothe insulating plate 28, the latterbeing preferably provided with vtheseparating insulating block The socket S which is directly attached -tothe plug P, comprises preferably the eX- ternal shell body 30 made of.insulating material, the interior threaded socket member orreceptacle31,-part ofthe said receptacle preferably threadedly engaging acorresponding threaded portion of theshell as p at A32 and .a preferablybifurcated contact element 33 arranged centrally of the thread- 25 edsocket 3l, the socket and contact element i. providing contact'meansforelectrically engagingjthe corresponding `portionsof astandardplug.`The shell bodyl 30 is preferably provided withY anannular flange 34'30" and the body 10 is rabbeted as at 35 to lit- `tingly receive the`angedportion 34, ythe plug :and socket bodies thus forming anYeffective unit. The'socket member 31 and 'contact element 33 areintended for connec- '35 tion tothe Contact elements of the male memberby means of the conductors 24 and 25. .Accordingly, they socket member31 is lprovided "with opposed apertured` ears 36 Yand v37 forzreceivingthe bolts or similar se- `40 :curing means"38'.and 39 respectively, the

latter being located in theplug body 10, the upper kend `ofthe conductork221 being connected tol the :socket member as by being attachedtof/,the ear 36 bythe bolt 38, as will be'obviou's froma considerationofthe drawings. Ifdesired a semi-circular member 40 having `itsendsperforated may beapplied tofthe vears-36 and 37 with the bolts y'enter-Iing the perforations 'ofthe'said member 40.

"The bifurcated contact element 33 is attached tothe conductor 25 andmay be Aformed integrally; therewith, the said contact elementpreferably being arranged to extend upwardly inthe socket 31, aninsulating block 41'being preferably provided Arranged longitudinally"of the body V10 are provided the spaced chan-M` 5 nels 22 and 23 and inthese channels'are ar- 'tion thereof. It will be further apparent thatI' have provided a unit especially adapted for base receptacles andintended to permitthe' lattery toV beiusedwith the standard plugs ofordinary household articles, the

latter thus being adapted to a greater usefulnessgand itwill be furtherapparent that my combinationy plug may be manufactured atlow costand'handled with considerable facility.

lVhile I have shown mydevice in the preferred form, it will be obviousthat many changes'and modications may bemade in the structure disclosedwithout departing from the spirit of the vinvention defined in thefollowing claims.

I claim:

1. A device of the'class described, comprising a plug and a socketboth'of insulating material, the plug provided with 'external contactelements, and the socket with internal contact elements, the plughaving' radial openings intermediate its ends, and the contact elementsbranches extending through the openings, and electrical connectionsbetween theV branches and the ycorrespondingcontact elements ofthesocket, the free ends of the plugco'ntact elements inturned and theadjacent end of the'plug `reduced to receive said inturned ends.

2. A vcombination plug and socket especially vadapted for basereceptacles comprising 'a male unit orplug including a body Aportion of"rectangular configuration made of insulating' material having spacedchannels therein arranged longitudinally thereof .and provided withoppositely positioned 4metallic strips mounted externally thereon,

the plug being constructedto be received by and itinto a standard basereceptacle with the' said strips adapted to connect with thecontactterminals of the saidy receptacle,

a femaleu'nit or socket attached to the male unit, the said female unitcomprising an 1nsulating shell body seated on the male plug bodyandforming a unitary piece therewith, a threaded receptaclemountedinteriorly .of

ythe said shell bodyv anda contact element mounted centrally ofthereceptacle, and conductors in said spaced channels connecting thesaid metallic strips of the male unit to the contact element andreceptacle of the kfemale unit, thewhole comprising a unitary plug andsocket.

vSigned at New York city, in the county of New `York and State of NewYork, this 3rd dayv of January, A. D. 1922.

DAVID CARL

